The vigil for justice launched by Xosnav Ata on 5 August 2022, to demand that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) conduct an investigation against the attacks carried out by the Turkish state against guerrillas with chemical weapons is on day 356.

Ata, whose two niecies, Mihriban and Gülperin, were killed due to chemical attacks, said that the Turkish state has used chemical weapons, which is considered a war crime in the international arena, since the 2021 Garê war, and protested the silence of international states.

Press conference on 28 July

Xosnav Ata and the #OPCWInvestigate Action Group will hold a press conference on 28 July to mark the first anniversary of the action before the OPCW.

'We have hope from our people, not states'

Ata said: "The use of chemical weapons is a war crime and is prohibited. The OPCW was founded by 193 capitalist states. These states act in their own interests. The OPCW is reviewing the interests of these states. These are the states that divided Kurdistan into four parts with the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. All these states have a hand in the war currently being waged in Kurdistan. Therefore, our hope is our people, not these states. Let's be united as the Kurdish people. Our ideas and thoughts may differ but we should be able to come together and find a solution to the Kurdish people. We should be able to make ourselves heard in the world as one color and one voice."

'States are not friends of the Kurdish people'

Ata had this to say about the OPCW's statement according to which, if any state applied, it could take action to investigate the use of chemicals in Kurdistan: "The Kurds are a people, but they do not have a state. For this reason, there is no state to take action against the crime of chemical weapons use. States are not friends of the Kurdish people. States act according to their own interests, not the interests of the peoples. Therefore, when the Kurdish people are exposed to chemical weapons, they do not see themselves as responsible and do not feel the need to go and investigate."

Calling on the peoples of Europe, Ata said: "The people of Europe are very sensitive and conscious. The Kurdish people should not be forgotten. The Kurdish people have the same right to life as the European peoples. The lands of the Kurdish people have been occupied. I have expectations from the people, not from the states."